Thursday, February 6, 1997
M. HOOPS:
Golden Bears ready to avenge earlier loss to BruinsBy Emmanuelle
Ejercito
Daily Bruin Staff
Reaching the halfway point of conference play, the UCLA men’s
basketball team holds a tenuous lead in the Pacific 10. With four
teams trailing the Bruins by a single game, each conference
match-up from here on out becomes critical in the title race.
UCLA (12-6 overall, 7-2 Pac-10) will tip off the second half of
the season tonight at Pauley Pavilion against California, one of
the four teams breathing down the Bruins’ necks.
Since starting the Pac-10 season at 1-3, The Golden Bears (15-5,
6-3) have become the hottest team in the conference. Cal is
currently on a tear, winning five straight games including last
week’s 70-64 victory over Stanford.
The success of Ben Braun, Cal’s head coach and his team has been
a surprise considering the exodus of talent that occurred over the
summer, as the Bears lost Jelani Gardner, Tremaine Fowlkes and
Shareef Abdur-Rahim.
"They’ve made great strides, especially after our game," UCLA
head coach Steve Lavin said. "Ben Braun is doing more with less.
Last year they had more talent; this year they have less talent,
but are more productive."
Cal’s improvement has come mostly on the defensive end. The
Bruins, the nation’s leaders in field-goal percentage, will face a
defense that holds opponents to a 39.3 shooting percentage.
However, UCLA turned the tables on Cal in its 64-56 win over the
Bears at the Cow Palace. The Bruin defense held the Bears to
shooting 30.0 percent from the floor, as Cal’s leading scorer Ed
Gray could only connect on nine of 28 shots. Gray, who averages
24.1 points per game, will again be the focus of UCLA’s
defense.
"You don’t have single coverage against Jerry Rice, and Ed Gray
is one of those kinds of players," Lavin said. "You have to have a
total team awareness of where Ed Gray is at all times. You don’t
want to allow the primary scorer to beat you."
Meanwhile, the game against the Bears marks the start of the
second round of conference play for the Bruins. UCLA’s stretch run
may feature more minutes for back-ups Brandon Loyd and Bob Myers.
The Bruins currently rely on a six-man rotation, and Lavin wants to
incorporate Loyd and Myers into the attack to keep the players
fresh.
After connecting on four of five three-pointers against Oregon
State on Saturday, Loyd has earned Lavin’s confidence.
"I was waiting for him to hit more than one (three-pointer),"
Lavin said. "Now that he’s hit four out of five, just like anything
else, the coach has more confidence in the player."
WYNN RUJIRAVIRIYAPINYO
Bob Myers and Brandon Loyd (not pictured) should see more
playing time in the second half of the season, which kicks off
tonight vs. Cal.